Numerous different types of edible food coatings are known. These include relatively heavy and thick coatings of various materials, such as bread crumbs and tempura batter, as well as various flour or starch-based coatings that are usually applied as a relatively thin batter thereby forming a much thinner coating, which can be substantially transparent after application to a foodstuff. After application, the thinner coatings are cooked, further cooked if parfried, or otherwise thermally processed. This latter type of coating is extensively used on commercially prepared French fry potatoes, where they are often referred to as “clear coats” due to their unobstrusive and, in some cases, virtually unnoticeable visual characteristic on the finished fry.
Frozen, parfried dough-enrobed foodstuffs such as pizza rolls, sandwich pockets, and other similar products are composed of a wet sauce or glaze-based filling surrounded by dough which has been sealed around the edges. In some cases, the foodstuff is usually parfried, then frozen, packaged, and sold to retailers. On the retail package, the manufacturer provides instructions for the consumer for reconstituting the dough-enrobed foodstuff. Different heating instructions are offered on the retail package depending on the heating method used—conventional oven, toaster oven, or microwave oven. Typically, products prepared by conventional and toaster oven methods have a somewhat crisp, tough texture, while products prepared by microwave ovens are, at best, only very slightly crisp and are also tough. With all three preparation methods, the resultant foodstuff becomes softer and more chewy-tough as cooling begins. For many years the food industry has searched for ways to obtain crisp textured foodstuffs, especially those foodstuffs prepared by microwave ovens. Traditionally, high amylose, flour-based coating compositions have been used to obtain crisp textured foodstuffs; however, high amylose ingredients tend to be expensive.
Some food manufacturers have resorted to using specialized packaging, called heat susceptors, to achieve a crisp surface texture, for example, HOT POCKETS® manufactured by Nestle Prepared Foods Company. Heat susceptors are metalized surfaces that are components of packages of food intended for microwave cooking. The heat susceptor absorbs the microwave energy and becomes extremely hot, promoting the browning and surface crispness of food. Because the temperatures required to brown or crisp food are extremely high (at times exceeding 260° C. (500° F.)), there is concern that packaging components, such as adhesives, polymers, paper, and degradation products of these components, may migrate into food.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for an easily and economically produced dough-enrobed foodstuff that has a crisp exterior and a moist interior upon reconstitution, especially reconstitution using a microwave oven.